Congressman Blasts NBC Over Melissa Harris-Perry Exit

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) took to the floor of the House on Wednesday to blast NBC for the departure of MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry and to claim that “some of the most visible people of color” are “disappearing” from the network.

In an email published last week, Harris-Perry objected to preemptions of her weekend show for campaign coverage, saying that her program had been “effectively and utterly silenced.” The channel parted ways with Perry over the weekend, but she has been critical of the network on Twitter in recent days, pointing out other hosts who have disappeared from the network.

“NBC said they wanted a show that was more about politics,” Gutierrez said. “But I have to say, when I watched her show, Melissa Harris-Perry was talking about politics in a unique way — like few others on the airwaves.”

He also lamented what he characterized as a diminished role for Alex Wagner, whose show was pulled from the schedule last summer. Gutierrez also questioned why anchor Jose Diaz Balart was not being sent to Florida to report on the primary.

“One of the most respected and recognized journalists in America who happens to be from Miami and a Florida political dynasty – apparently he is not the right guy to report on politics in Florida,” he said.

A spokeswoman for MSNBC said the network had no comment.

Guterriez did not stop with MSNBC. He echoed criticism he directed at NBC last year for inviting Donald Trump to host “Saturday Night Live.”

“And let’s not forget, the great NBC racism flip-flop last year when NBC severed ties to Donald Trump because of his racist remarks about Latinos, only to have him host their flagship comedy show, ‘Saturday Night Live,’ last fall,” he said, standing next to a vintage NBC peacock logo and the hashtag #NBCsowhite.

MSNBC is broken beyond repair, hiring a dozen liberal minority hosts will drive ratings down further. NBC/U should give the network to the entertainment division and turn it into something else, or just sell it.

What an idiotic comment. You do realize that she is half white, right? What she hated was racism and used her show to highlight the horrible treatment of people of color. It sounds like you could have benefited from taking a college class from Dr. Harris-Perry or at least watching her show through an unbiased lens. I’ll pray for you.